Multicolor paints are used to coat surfaces where it is desirable for more that one color to appear in the coating. Generally, there is a prominent color with speckles, streaks, or blotches of one or more additional colors dispersed therein. In some embodiments, a multicolor paint is a composition which, when coated on a surface and dried, results in a coating that is characterized by dispersed discrete spots (or dots). Multicolor paints can be easily applied to irregular surfaces and can be utilized in exterior applications. In fact, multicolor paints offer significant advantages as coatings for rough surfaces. Multicolor paints are widely used by professional painters in commercial and industrial settings. For example, multicolor paints are currently being used on a significant scale in painting commercial and public buildings, stadiums, and arenas. Multicolor paints can additionally be employed in painting vehicles, equipment, bridges, signs, and other types of structures.
Water-in-water multicolor paints have been proposed (see, for example, Sellars et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,283, Grasko U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,076 and Zola U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,654) and are of commercial interest particularly in view of the developing governmental interest in establishing regulations limiting the quantity of organic volatiles emitted into the environment by a paint during application and subsequent air drying. The states of California, New Jersey and New York, for example, have adopted regulations limiting paint emissions and many other states reportedly will be adopting similar regulations.